BERLIN — With the presentation of the proposed Berlin Fire Company budget by David Fitzgerald, President of the Berlin Fire Company, the Town of Berlin is prepared to adopt its $13.5 million fiscal 2013 budget after a public hearing May 29. Fitzgerald told the Mayor and Council that, at their request, the Company was able… Read more »

BERLIN — Generally last-minute, un-budgeted expenditures don’t get very good popular reviews, but the Town Council’s decision to tap into a small portion this year’s funds to bring Wi-Fi to the Downtown will likely do little to raise public ire. At the end of last year’s budget debate, Councilwoman Lisa Hall suggested adding funding for… Read more »

OCEAN PINES — Sharyn O’Hare has been tempted to run for the OPA board of directors more than a few times since the association was founded. Generally she’s shied away for either business or personal reasons but as the board and the association generally enter what could be a very critical period, O’Hare decided that… Read more »

BERLIN — The Berlin Mayor and Council this week took up the issue of whether out-of-town contractors should pay a fee before they can perform work in the Town and, if so, how high the fee should be and how the rates should be structured. Although in-town businesses are required to have a business license… Read more »

BERLIN — The weather never made good on its threat this weekend and the Berlin Jazz and Blues Festival continued throughout the day uninterrupted. Crowds were slow to materialize as many people were waiting to see what the weather was going to be but by the end of the day, officials estimate that around 2,500… Read more »

SNOW HILL — As the result of a Maryland Department of the Environment fee levied on the Ocean Pines Sanitary Service Area, residents will receive a $15 bump in their sewer bills this June. The $2.50 per-user-per-month fee is applied to users of facilities with heightened nitrogen levels as part of a mechanism for funding… Read more »

OCEAN PINES — Ocean Piners kept 73,540 pounds or about 37 tons of recyclables out of landfills during the community’s first month of recycling. “That’s a huge number,” General Manager Bob Thompson told a group of approximately 45 people gathered at the Yacht Club last Thursday evening to learn about recycling.  Thompson and Jon Southworth… Read more »

SNOW HILL — Although the Worcester County Sheriffs patrolling Seacrets this year will be in plain cloths they will be on the clock and providing both security and an extra set of eyes for possible DWIs. Seacrets has employed off-duty sheriffs for more than a decade but this year the nightclub entered into a Memorandum… Read more »

SNOW HILL — With about $75,000 in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funds remaining, Budget Accountant Kim Johnson asked the Worcester County Board of  Commissioners’ permission to use less than $10,000 of it to purchase energy-efficient refrigerators for County facilities. Her expectation is to use the money for the purchase and installation of 17… Read more »

BERLIN — Protecting homes and property from crime is something the Berlin Police Department has done well but in response to burglaries around town over the last six weeks Chief Arnold Downing cautions residents on what they can do to help prevent and deter these kinds of crimes. “We think [the burglaries] are all related,”… Read more »